Chocolate News and Views from Kerstin Roos and Angie Roos

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The Shop is fully stocked once again in anticipation of our expanded hours beginning November 9th. All four Bonnat bars are back, as well as Cluizel, Pralus, Valrhona Manjari Orange, and Corallo. Our Chocophilia section is fully stocked once again (including the Fleur de Sel milk and Hot Chocolate bars), and there are lots of Coconut, Dulce de Leche and Peanut Butter cups waiting for you in the truffle case. And now on to some new treats.

We’ve just received a brand new shipment of Coppeneur of Germany. Single Origin Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and a Trinidadian with Habanero and Lavender are all waiting for tasting. We also received some of their truffle bars (think Zotter style with these ones). Flavours include Saffron and Orange, Panna Cotta and Red Berries, and one which is certainly my favourite – Black Beer (notes of coffee and toasted malt balance Coppeneur’s beautiful chocolate incredibly well here).

We also received a much anticipated shipment of Escazú blended bars, as well as their EZCA single origin bars. The talk of the Shop has certainly been the hand-crafted Venezuelan 60% with Goat’s Milk – a dark bar with the creaminess of milk and a slight goat’s milk tang just towards the end.

More fall truffle flavours are certainly making their way into the Shop, but the S’more Cup has been the hit of the week, flying out of the truffle case all day today. Home-made vanilla marshmallow in a dark chocolate cup, with crunchy graham wafer at the base and top makes for a perfectly decadent fall treat.

Also back by popular demand, is chocolate dipped ginger. We’ve also added chocolate dipped apricots to the collection for a bit of fall sweetness.

Speaking of truffles, we have recently started carrying Jacqueline Jacek‘s truffle collection. Based in Sherwood Park, she has gained quite the reputation this past year for her beautiful fashion inspired collections. Currently in the truffle case is the LouLou Belle collection (picture below: Pink Grapefruit Sherbet).

And finally, Rachel is still whipping up fresh flourless chocolate cakes and brownies throughout the week and we’ve received many excellent comments (and sometimes just strange moaning noises) on their deliciousness when sampling them in the Shop. But we’ve recently given the packaging a makeover, so these little treats are now perfect for fall gift giving, or taking home yourself to unwrap and enjoy.

I hope you enjoy the last little bit of warm fall weather this week. And keep in mind that snow means two excellent things – more drinking chocolate evenings, which are absolutely essential for keeping warm, and our Christmas collection in the next month or so. We’ll keep you posted. Until then, enjoy your chocolate.

As we head into Fall, we’ll be making some changes to our hours of operation:

Beginning September 2nd, the Shop will be open Thursday through Saturday for all your chocolate needs. As we head into December, we will once again extend Shop hours to allow ample time to find the perfect gift for all those chocolate lovers in your life.

The new change in hours will give Kerstin a chance to focus on new creations in the back, so expect lots of new, exciting chocolate in the Shop come Fall. We are also heading into our greatest Holiday collection ever, so keep an eye out for details.

We’ve received new Madagascar bars from Madécasse – a 63% ‘mellow’ and a 67% ‘smooth’ – as well as a brand new batch of Pralus bars, including some new Single Origins – Djakarta, Trinidad and Caracas. The Amano shelf is packed again too, with more Guayas, Ocumare Milk and Jembrana Milk.

We know many of you have been waiting for the re-appearance of this bar, and after a long search for orange rind, we now have some Mad Orange Pistachio ready to go! They are sitting pretty along with the other Chocophilia bars once again.

We’ve been waiting not-so-patiently for our order of Zotter truffle bars to arrive, and they are finally here! Black Cherries with Vanilla, Cheese-Walnuts-Raisins, Marc de Champagne, Pink Grapefruit, Bacon Bits, With Love (a combo of raspberry, almond and coconut) are all waiting to be scooped up.

Last week I reported that we were sold out of Drinking Chocolate, but the shelves are packed once again with both Spicy and Dark versions. And since the snow seems to be returning today, after a week of blue skies, a cup of drinking chocolate is surely in order!

We have just received a new shipment of Amedei bars and hot chocolate! More Porcelana, Gianduja, Toscana Black (63% or 70%), Toscana Red (with raspberry, strawberry, and cherry… lots of these have been scooped up already), and Toscana Blond (with pistachios) are on the shelf. And we still have the Chuao and the award winning “9” bars in as well.

There is also new Domori! We’ve stocked up on Javablond, Porcelana, Lattesal and a new white bar with mint, Biancomenta, that is divine!

The Michel Cluizel “Sardines” are also back in store! And no, these are not sardine flavoured, they are very deceiving solid milk chocolates that make for a surprising gift, or a treat for yourself.

We are running a bit low on Chocophilia Drinking Chocolate at the moment (after the Olympic order!), but we should have more in the Shop later next week. Also, a bit of an update on our Mad Orange Pistachio Chocophilia bar – we are having problems sourcing the appropriate orange rind needed to complete the recipe, but we will be sure to let you know when the bar is back in stock!

Our Fleur de Sel, Passion Fruit and Crème Brûlée truffles are now available in singles at Da Capo (8738 109 Street). A little chocolate is certainly the perfect way to finish off your cappuccino… or espresso, or latte, or anything else, really. Enjoy!

Father’s Day is coming up this Sunday, and The Cocoa Room is rolling out some new items for Dad. The first is a special filled chocolate: The Bourbon Cigar. It is a dark chocolate cigar made of our 65% Venezuelan chocolate filled with a special ganache: dark chocolate and Bourbon. A wonderful treat that will put a smile on Dad’s face. Click on the photo to see a larger image.

We have created a new filled chocolate in the shape of a red and gold cocoa pod. It is filled with a spicy lime and chili ganache, a new, wonderful combination that we are all now in love with.

Finally, if Dad likes milk chocolate, may we suggest a novel type of chocolate: milk chocolate sardines! These gourmet milk chocolates are shaped like sardines, and will appeal to Dad, whether he is a fisherman or not. Michel Cluizel, one of France’s greatest chocolate makers, makes these whimsical treats.

Come visit The Cocoa Room this week and see all of these Father’s Day gifts and more!

We got some T-shirts made up, and they look great. There are 4 color variations (red, green, blue and yellow) of the Chocophilia Logo, and men’s and women’s sizes. There are also versions for infants and toddlers! We have tote bags too!

As of today, we are opening our own retail location in Downtown Edmonton. It is called “The Cocoa Room” and it is located at 10139 112th St, just north of Jasper Ave. We have more info up on the web site here.